UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing political pushback after using the occasion of his apology to Parliament for violating Covid-19 lockdown rules to campaign for increased military aid to Ukraine.
Speaking at the House of Commons on Tuesday, Johnson briefly apologized for holding a June 2020 birthday party when the rest of Britons were locked down – a violation that he blamed on his ignorance of the pandemic rules – then quickly transitioned by linking his regret over the incident to the Ukraine crisis. He called for boosting aid to help Kiev repel the offensive ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February.
“It is precisely because I know that so many people are angry and disappointed that I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people and to respond in the best traditions of our country to Putin’s barbaric onslaught against Ukraine,” the PM said.
Johnson noted that he was the first G7 leader to visit Kiev since the conflict began, recounting a four-hour visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 9, and said he briefed US President Joe Biden on the trip last week. He called for a long-term military buildup of the former Soviet republic in the call with his American counterpart.